Introduction to Dog Training

Copyright Dogswish. 2012. All rights reserved worldwide. http://www.dogswish.co.uk

I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII.

Preamble The Human Dog Team Training Techniques Rewards Punishment First Steps On The Leash Further Training Tips

Page 3 Page 3 - 4 Page 4 - 5 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 - 8 Page 8 Page 9

Copyright Dogswish. 2012. All rights reserved worldwide. http://www.dogswish.co.uk

Page 2 of 10

I. Preamble
Dogs should be given the opportunity to sample as many experiences as possible from a puppy age onwards. Dogs which join their family in as many activities as possible, while learning commands at the same time, will show more comprehension in the long run. Also, those dogs are likely to develop a higher eagerness to learn and obey than others.

II. The Human Dog Team

The person who spends the most amount of time with the dog (either in form of exercises, games or any other form of attention) are most likely to be the main attachment figure for it. However, in the ideal case, the whole family should be involved in the dogs exercise and training regime as this will lead to better obedience as well as better relations between the dog and all family members. The deep respect and true love of a dog does not depend on who provides the food or who gives the commands, but the person which will invest to spend most of his/ her time with it and, above all, who communicates with dog-logical authority. If you have the feeling that there are issues in the communication between you and your dog, take some time to understand how your dog thinks: Dogs have a distinctive expressive behaviour and to fully understand your dogs behaviour and reactions, it is crucial to understand the canine communication processes. Dogs do not think like humans and have, due to their genetic inheritance, a completely different view on social hierarchies and relationships. The canine hierarchy is linearly structured and reigned by the dominant members of the group with the so called Alpha male and Beta female on top of the chain. In other words, a dog will either act as the leader or the follower in his group. With this in mind it is not surprising that this structure also translates down to the daily tasks e.g. the dominant members of the pack always eat first, select their own resting spots and most important physically lead the other members as for when & which activities are executed. And exactly this knowledge will help you to find the right communication level with your dog. Of course, you want to be seen as the Alpha, but you will only achieve this by acting like one. This, coupled with focusing on consistent obedience training including rewarding exercises, will improve your relationship immensely.

Copyright Dogswish. 2012. All rights reserved worldwide. http://www.dogswish.co.uk

Page 3 of 10

Attention is a privilege for the high-ranked members of a canine pack. Use this fact to introduce yourself as the leader. To reinforce this, try to always be the one that decides on start & end times of social contacts, games, petting and exercises with your dog. Dogs have a keen grasp on a humans amount of confidence. When YOU feel uncomfortable, your dog is very likely to pick up this feeling and usually this will reflect on the learning progress as well as results. If you are unsure about your dog carrying out the commands you give or you are afraid that he will rather follow other impulses, there is a big chance that your dog senses this lack of confidence. Grow your confidence, love and pride for your dog by giving him the opportunity to follow your instructions through regular exercises of commands and practise them in different situations. A dog is usually willing to perform any behaviour laying in his nature and which is anatomically possible for him, as long as he understands what he has to do and is sufficiently motivated.

III. Training Techniques

Classical or also known as respondent - conditioning is a form of learning in which a response is produced by a neutral impulse that previously had been repeatedly presented in association with the impulse that originally produced the response. For example a primary or unconditioned stimulus (US) for your dog is food. The reaction to a stimulus after learning about it is called secondary or conditioned stimulus (CS). Food (US) naturally results in your dog to salivate - an unconditioned response (UR). After conditioning a dog to respond, for example, to the sound of a bell, while ringing the bell every time the dogs is presented with food, the bell will soon be considered the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the salvation to the bell the conditioned response (CR). This means, after a while, your dog will learn that the ring of the bell means food and start salivating by the sound of it.

Copyright Dogswish. 2012. All rights reserved worldwide. http://www.dogswish.co.uk

Page 4 of 10

We can leverage this by using command-words, whistles, clicker etc., followed by praise & food treats to condition the dog to an unconsciously executed or reflex- action. For example, if your dog sits down by himself, firmly say SIT and praise him with a small food treat and/ or lots of petting. If you continuously follow this regime, you dog will soon connect the command SIT with the physical action of sitting down. Operant or better known as instrumental conditioning is a form of learning in which a response that releases either a reward or a punishment is caused by a certain stimulus (learning through natural consequences). However, you should always enforce motivational and rewarding training & behaviour amendment methods as these act as positive affirmations for the relationship with your dog.

IV. Rewards
First of all you should always keep an eye on your dogs food intake and weight. Throughout intense training phases, you might want or need to amend your dogs usual food-portion, depending on how much food treats your training sessions require. Alternatively, some dogs also respond great to toys as rewards. Additionally this can be a great way for the dog to let off steam, gain some physical exercise and reduce mental stress. Another two very important rewards are verbal praise and stroking not only to praise for correctly executed commands and training sessions, but especially for bonding between you and your dog. After a while, remember not to reward every single time after a successful exercise, especially when your dog is already able to master it to a hundred percent. This will help to keep the exercise exciting and surprising for the dog. Also, it is important to reward the dog in the right situations and at the right timings so that the dog connects his action with the reward. Otherwise your dog may link the reward with the wrong action. Studies have shown that the scope of linking rewards to actions can lie at a short time such as only 1 second! Therefore keep in mind that your dog will always connect his last action with any immediately afterwards received reward or punishment.

Copyright Dogswish. 2012. All rights reserved worldwide. http://www.dogswish.co.uk

Page 5 of 10

V. Punishment
First of all, dogs do not have a bad conscience. Even when it seems like your dog would, he is simply feeling your anger and intimidated by your voice and body language. Additionally, it is very illogical for your dog that he gets punished for a misdeed that happened hours ago and is unlikely to connect this punishment with his actual action back then. A direct method of penalisation is to punish a dog physically, which in most cases will result in immense fear and aggressive behaviours.

A more sensible way of punishment is the indirect method which doesnt affect the dog physically or verbally. Ideally, a trap for the dog is set, so that the punishment does not depend on your presence. This might be a construction such as some empty tins that fall on him as soon as he tries to steal something from the table. As your dog wont be able to explain this shocking experience else wise, he will assign it directly to his action and in future refrain from it. Methods like this are usually more effective as the punishment is timed and controlled by the dogs misdeed. However, any form of attention, also punishment, can present a success for the dog. Therefore ignoring your dog often is one of the most effective punishments. If certain behaviour doesnt lead to success, it wont be motivating for your dog and therefore he will sooner or later stop doing it. Its simply uneconomical for him. Furthermore, it is always beneficial to train and implement correction-words like No! or Leave it!. This can support you in helping your dog to make the decision of being well-behaved. If, for example, he bites on your shoes, you could let him carry out the Leave it exercise, followed by a retrieve game with one of his toys and hand him a chew bone afterwards.

Copyright Dogswish. 2012. All rights reserved worldwide. http://www.dogswish.co.uk

Page 6 of 10

VI. First Steps

You should always plan in enough time for your training sessions and most important, not expect too much from your dog in the beginning. Establish a relaxed and comfortable situation e.g. when your dog seems hyper or tensed, go for a short walk before you start the training exercises. As for a time guideline, a fully grown dog should not exceed more than three times of 20 minutes (spread over a whole day) of obedience training and for younger dogs it is recommended to half these times. Commands can be separated into 3 forms: Verbal commands Visual commands (like hand signs or even body positions) Tactile commands (through touching your dog) The verbal and visual commands are most common due to that dogs mainly communicate with each other via their body language and voice signals. It is advisable to link any visual signs additionally with voice commands as there might be situations where your dog does not have direct eye-contact with you.

It is essential to firstly just give your dog the command once and speak with a clear and understandable voice. Then wait to see if the dog is going to execute it. If he doesnt, you should give the command once again and ensure that your dog pays attention while you do so. Always speak voice commands clearly and with the same pitch as dogs will remember the sound of the word, but usually not the word itself. By repeating commands that wont be executed by your dog, especially when combined with continuous shouting and whistling, often the so-called cow-bell-effect will start to develop. This means that your dog will interpret your shouting as a sign for signalising him where you are similar as if you would wear a bell on your neck.

Copyright Dogswish. 2012. All rights reserved worldwide. http://www.dogswish.co.uk

Page 7 of 10

Avoiding this will also present an advantage in emergency situations when your dog is not used to loud spoken or screamed commands. He will then be more likely to be alarmed and refrain from what he was going to eat or do. The learning and mastering of commands can be divided into 3 Phases: Phase 1 - > Explaining the command Phase 2 - > Training the command (in every possible, and also in unfamiliar, situations) Phase 3 - > Mastering the command In phase 2, keep alternating the locations of where you train the command, so that your dog doesnt connect it to a certain place or situation. Disobedience and misbehaviour often arise when owners speak out praise or reprehension at wrong timings or for incompletely performed commands. Look out to not strengthen them by repeating those mistakes rather start over at phase 1 and take it from the start. Also remember that your dog will always learn and not only during exercise times!

VII. On The Leash

First of all - Never use the leash as a punishment tool. Some dogs are likely to start fights with other dogs while theyre on the leash. The reason for this is not that your dog feels superior with you as a co-fighter by his side, but because his alternatives are minimised (as he cant flee on the leash) so that particularly insecure dogs often chose defence through aggressive behaviour as the only exit out of this situation. In nature this would be prevented as both dogs would stand free while they face each other, which gives them the opportunity to either get in touch or make way for each other. However, following this approach in domestic dogs can end in serious trouble especially if both dogs have dominant characteristics and are prone to fight each other. Therefore, special training techniques to help your dog walking calmly beside other dogs while they are on the leash are always recommended. Hereby dog-holster, different leashes, toys and foodtreats will be helpful supporting tools and act as motivations during your dogs training sessions.

Copyright Dogswish. 2012. All rights reserved worldwide. http://www.dogswish.co.uk

Page 8 of 10

VIII. Further Training Tips

Dogs are classed as basic obedient when they are able to master all elementary commands e.g. Come here, Sit, Lay Down, Stay, Heel or Leave it as well as the ability to walk behaved on the leash. Implement some training lessons into the walks. This will show your dog that he will get special attention from you, but at the same time set the boundaries that he still cant do whatever he wants. Dont use a monotonous voice while you teach and give commands. Motivate your dog with a high-pitched tone of voice; use an ordinary tone (firm, but calm manner) for instructions and a low-pitched tone to reprehend.

Try to vary the places & timings of when you give commands and mix up the exercise routine with different training combinations to keep the training exciting! If you train a new command, avoid places that offer a lot of distractions & remember to keep training times shorter in the beginning so your dog does not get overwhelmed. Dont be resentful your dog isnt either! Try to forget any fault or misdeed your dog may have made immediately and if you have trouble doing so, let your dog make an exercise for which you can definitely reward him. This will make him & you feel better straight away! It is very likely that you will give different commands to your dog out of your specific exercise and training sessions. Therefore, try to focus on strengthen the commands your dog can already master well throughout the whole day and in different day-to-day situations.

Copyright Dogswish. 2012. All rights reserved worldwide. http://www.dogswish.co.uk

Page 9 of 10

Dogswish Pia Offord

Dip.dog.psy.MOC.MSFTR

The founder of Dogswish, Pia Offord, grew up with 7 Siberian Huskies, parents who were highly engaged in dog agility and a father who served as a professional dog-handler within the guard-and security business and could therefore gain prominent knowledge and interest in canine behaviourism already from a young age. Voluntary work in veterinary practices and kennels helped her to develop an excellent in-depth view in behaviour management as well as in basic animal handling & medical care. Her passion for animals, people and experience gained from years of leadership, including management, training and development of staff, helped Pia to understand basic learning abilities and approaches, which are closely linked between human as well as canine / feline creatures, and encourage her to consistently study this specific field further.

Contact
Dogswish Caterways Brighton Road Horsham West Sussex UK RH13 6PP Tel: +44 (0) 140 389 1821 Fax: +44 (0) 872 111 3554 E-mail dogswish@dogswish.co.uk Web site http://www.dogswish.co.uk Blog http://dogswish.wordpress.com Our aim at Dogswish is to develop the knowledge and understanding of dog -owners relating to their dogs behaviours and help them to achieve a balanced, happy and fulfilled life together.

All contents Copyright 2012 Dogswish. All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this document or the related files may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the author. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is strictly prohibited.

Copyright Dogswish. 2012. All rights reserved worldwide. http://www.dogswish.co.uk

Page 10 of 10